Forty-two US senators across party lines have urged US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) to lay the groundwork for negotiating a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan.
In a joint letter to Tai on the eve of the 11th Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) trade talks between Taiwan and the US on Wednesday, the US senators highlighted the importance of such dialogue with Taiwan.
“We respectfully request that you prioritize these talks and take steps to begin laying the groundwork for negotiation of a free-trade agreement (FTA), or other preliminary agreement, with Taiwan,” read the letter, initiated by US senators Marco Rubio and Mark Warner.
Photo: Reuters
The letter — which Rubio posted on his Web site on Wednesday — said that beyond commerce and investment, trade talks with Taiwan are of “great strategic importance.”
“We can all be confident that an agreement negotiated with Taiwan could serve as a model for what a high-standard FTA should look like,” the senators wrote.
“It will facilitate free trade under fair conditions that allow American workers, producers and companies alike to flourish. Advanced economies such as Singapore and New Zealand have paved the way by signing their own FTAs with Taiwan,” they said.
“Maintaining US economic influence in the region and reducing Taiwan’s dependence on China is essential to ensuring that the region remains free and open,” they added.
Prominent US senators who signed the letter include Senate Minority Whip John Thune; Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Ranking Member Roger Wicker; and Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member James Inhofe.
In October last year, 50 US senators wrote to then-US trade representative Robert Lighthizer to urge the deepening of bilateral trade ties, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement yesterday, thanking the 42 senators in the new congress for also supporting the improvement of Taiwan-US trade ties.
US Senator Chris Coons, who visited Taiwan last month, was also among the people who signed the letter, Ou added.
Wednesday’s virtual TIFA meeting was fruitful and marked a major milestone in Taiwan-US trade relations, she said.
Given the US’ bipartisan support for Taiwan, the ministry would continue to work with domestic government agencies to deepen Taiwan-US trade ties, Ou said.
Tropical Storm Koinu is expected to come closest to Taiwan from Wednesday through Friday as it passes through the Bashi Channel, but it remained uncertain how it would affect the weather, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am yesterday, Koinu was about 1,000km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving northwest at 12kph, the CWA said. Koinu is likely to strengthen into a typhoon today or tomorrow and turn west as it enters the Bashi Channel to the south of Taiwan proper, CWA forecaster Chao Hung (趙竑) said. The storm’s trajectory is still unclear, so more time is
Taichung prosecutors yesterday indicted three people on charges of fraud for allegedly passing off watches assembled in Taiwan as Swiss-made timepieces and earning NT$400 million (US$12.4 million) in illicit gains. The Taichung branch office of the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau said in a statement that the group, headed by Mei Hua Precision Industry Co (梅華精密) and Laora Trading Co (仁徠貿易) manager Yang Hung-pin (楊鴻斌), had purchased the rights to use the Swiss trademark Ogival years ago and from November 2006 to December 2020 sold 26,282 counterfeit watches in department stores and online platforms in Taiwan. The branch office said they received
PALAU LAUNCHES: The source said that Taiwanese military personnel traveled to Palau, where a US brigade watched their work amid plans for a defense network The military last month participated in live-fire launches of MM-104F Patriot (PAC-3) missiles under US observation in an undisclosed location in Palau, a step forward in a US-led plan to create a joint defense missile system in the first island chain, a source said on condition of anonymity. The PAC-3 is the mainstay surface-to-air missile of the US, NATO and democratic nations in East Asia, the source said, adding that it has never been live-tested within Taiwan’s borders, the source said. The proximity of Taiwan to China and China’s close surveillance of the nation’s borders and nearby sea zones is a significant
TRAJECTORY: Koinu’s outer rim is expected to reach Orchid Island early tomorrow and Taitung at about noon, where waves of at least 6m are forecast A sea warning for Typhoon Koinu was issued at 11:30pm last night, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that a land warning could be issued today. High waves of about 2m were observed in Taitung yesterday, while waves of 6m or higher were forecast for today, said Huang Chia-mei (黃嘉美), head of the CWA’s Taitung Weather Station. At noon yesterday, Koinu was about 660km southeast of Taitung, she said, adding that it was moving more to the north and its center could possibly make landfall. The storm’s outer rim would likely reach Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) in the early hours tomorrow and